Why are you still here?

On regular intervals people ask me, “Why are you still at Sun?' And my answer might surprise you.

I started at Sun at the peak of the boom, October 2000, when they hired plumbers to do marketing programs. Most of the plumbers are gone, yet those of us with passion are still here.

I have a checkered career past - black-jack dealer, travel agent, corporate travel manager, customer service manager, partner manager, marketing program manager for telecommunications . . . One of these isn't like the others. . . and if you don't wonder how this happened, I sure do.

Sun promotes scrappy behavior. I learned very quickly at Sun, no one trains you. No one helps you. You have to figure it out. And if you can, you'll get things done. Once you get things done, people learn your name and your personal network grows. Scott McNealy's tag-line is "the network is the computer." At Sun if you don't have a personal network, you can't get your job done.

Fearless is also a thriving skill at Sun. As an employee you can't shy away from any conversation or situation. Maybe that's why so many Silicon Valley CEO's used to be Sun Microsystem employees?

For me, everything that came before Sun was my training ground for learning about my strengths, weakness and how to be a better communicator. Working at Sun has been about growing personally AND growing my career. It's rare to find a company that allows one to make a difference and grow your resume at the same time. I've had many opportunities at Sun and I've made the most of them.

So back to that question: Why Sun? I love Sun. For as much as one can love a company. Am I shocked at the news this morning? No. If there is another company that promotes scrappy & fearless behavior in it's employees, it's Oracle. West coast, meets west coast. Culturally, it's a good thing.

So sit back, but don't relax. I'm still here, for now. Scrappy and fearless are both skills that will come in handy at Oracle.

Do you have any career regrets?

We all have regrets, right? As I'm known to say, shoulda, coulda, woulda . . .

Personal regrets, we all have those, right? I know I do. One of my biggest personal regrets is not wearing sunscreen when I was a beach bum in high school. Today I am paying the price for not wearing sunscreen when I spent those 6 - 8 hours a day on the beach.

But I'm not talking about personal regrets. No, not relationship regrets either. We all have those too. I know I do. I'm talking about career regrets. I went to lunch this week with a former manager. And at lunch we had a brief discussion about our individual careers and about the careers of our peers. After our lunch, I was thinking about my own career regrets.

Of late I can think of two, one in 1991 and the other in 1999. Neither of which I shared with my former manager.

Regret one: In 1991 I was a corporate travel manager for a US hardware manufacturer, Pyramid Technology. I had done an awesome job saving the company money on corporate travel. And because I had done such an awesome job, I had cut my workload in ½. With my commodity well managed, my reward was a requirement to learn T-accounts and help with accruals. I was, after all, in the accounting department. If you know me, you are laughing so hard right now you have to be crying. I did not warm to accounting and accounting did not warm to me. I did, however, have a wonderful mentor and manager, Dennis Demps (who I miss very much. Dennis past away in 1993). When Pyramid needed to make cuts in 1992, no matter how great of a job I had done managing travel, it wasn't enough for me to stay off of the RIF list. My regret isn't that I was required to learn accounting, or that I was really bad at it or that I lost my job. My regret is that I didn't take the opportunity to manage my own career. I could have looked, long and hard at my company and found the right mentor and the best spot for me to grow my career. My regret is that I didn't head upstairs and have a conversation with the VP of Marketing, who much later became the E in BEA.

Regret two: In 1999, I was a customer service manager, who was working hard to take charge of my career at a supply chain management company. Learning from my past, I was always looking for more responsibility and always connecting with folks to learn more about the business. In 1999, one of my peers called me doggedly persistent and to me it was a complement. One day I received a phone call from a head-hunter wanting to know if I would consider a project management role at a software start-up in San Jose. She shared a bit about the company, their product and well, gosh, I had never heard of BEA. My regret isn't that I didn't get the interview with a start-up I'd never heard about or that later they went public . My regret is that I didn't do my homework, I didn't know about BEA or who worked there. My biggest regret was not continuing to network with my former colleagues from Pyramid who were at BEA.

As I say, shoulda, coulda, woulda, right? Lessons learned: take charge of your career, do your homework and continuing to network. You can't change the past but you can shape your future.

What are your regrets?

Never say never, right?

Professional tools and personal tools are a preference. Some grow on you faster than others and some of us can not imagine what life was like before the tool. All of my professional life I have used a computer. I don't know what life would be like without one. And today, all of my colleagues, partners, customers and family members, use a mobile phone. Some have more than one mobile device. Many of us know what life was like without a mobile phone. A few of us wish mobile phones would go away because we dread having to listen in on all those personal phone calls while in the checkout line at the grocery store or phones ringing while we are at the movies. I, however, wouldn't want to live a life without my mobile phone. For me, my mobile phone is a professional and personal tool. It's always on but I don't use it when I'm in the checkout line at the grocery store and my kids always remind me to silence my phone while at the movies.

What tools are you using these days?

Recall that I said I'd never use IM? I use it now. And I kinda like it. I still prefer a phone call or an email. I enjoy the pace better in email because I'm a slow typer and I do a few re-writes before I hit send (Yes, a very bad habit that results in more than a few typos daily). I have a former colleague (the same one that years ago wanted me on IM) located in Hong Kong, the end of my day, is the beginning of his. When we chat, he's had more caffeine than I and the IM can be hard to follow at times. But it is cheaper than a phone call. Now that I've used IM, I understand why others use it as a tool. I am able to imagine a world without it.

A few friends recall me saying I'd never join Facebook. But today I'm using FB for family and friends. And I enjoy it. But FB isn't a professional tool for me. I have rules with my FB page, don't invite me to be a friend, unless you know me. FB is my personal space. I cry and laugh a ton on FB. I work at home most of the time, and I click on FB when stressed or when I need a break. I also use FB to keep up with my family and crave looking at my family's photos. FB is my personal tool. I can not imagine a world without it.

LinkedIn was easier for me to adopt as a tool. Although I was a slow starter, LinkedIn is a professional tool for me. But like FB, I have a few rules with LinkedIn. If we've met, emailed or you're a friend of someone I know, chances are I'll link you in. But if we've never met or never exchanged an email, you'll have to sell me on why we should be linked. And I've had a few surprises on LinkedIn, this guy is one. Turned out he went to college with my husband. And he's very well connected and extremely knowledgeable about Silicon Valley. LinkedIn is my professional tool. I can not imagine a working world without it.

Guy Kawasaki said that Twitter is a Twool. For me, joining Twitter was different than Skype, FB or LinkedIn. No one suggested I join the conversation. Or maybe one person suggested it? I can't recall. I never had to say 'never' for Twitter. I just jumped it. And I can't describe it. It's like being at a cocktail party and you're welcome in every conversation. But there's no sound. Just 140 words. And it's all around you. All the time, 24/7. It's both professional and personal. Twitter is a tool for me. And it's easy to use. I can't imagine my life without Twitter and I've only been using it since 11-Jan-09.

What's next? I'm not sure? But my Hong Kong friend thinks it should be FriendFeed.

What tools are you using these days?